Zillow Group, Inc. $Z Shares Acquired by Maven Securities LTD

Key Points

• Maven Securities increased its Zillow Group holdings by 80% in the second quarter, acquiring 32,616 additional shares for a total position of 73,385 shares valued at approximately $2.31 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.01% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $66.75, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Zillow shares opened at $32.36, near the lower end of their 12-month range of $29.23 to $93.88.
• Zillow exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.52 in earnings per share versus the $0.45 consensus and revenue of $772 million versus estimates of $758.1 million. Insiders, however, sold 38,539 shares worth approximately $1.32 million over the past 90 days.

Maven Securities LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - Free Report) by 80.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,616 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD's holdings in Zillow Group were worth $2,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of Z. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 186.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 1,895.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 128,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,992,000 after buying an additional 121,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Z has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Zillow Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Zillow Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Zillow Group from $95.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.75.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:Z opened at $32.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.10, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.00. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.23 and a 12 month high of $93.88. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $33.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 1.96%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Claire Cormier Thielke sold 1,187 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.71, for a total transaction of $42,387.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,811.25. This trade represents a 33.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Erik C. Blachford sold 792 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.71, for a total transaction of $28,282.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,219,853.60. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 38,539 shares of company stock worth $1,323,800 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 23.76% of the company's stock.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company's platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company's automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.

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